Polling units are the basic foundation for an electoral process of any country. The voters register is not from the polling unit, without the voters\u2019 register gathered from the various units that form the electoral ward, there would have been no hope of election. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is the statutory body saddled with the responsibility of creating new polling units or merging them with existing ones.
\nINEC had conducted an exercise of scrutinising the population of the various units across the country. This exercise was also to check the inequalities that exist among the polling units in Nigeria. The exercise would be used to review the voters\u2019 register, to know the number of the dead and remove their names from the register.
\nDue to population explosion, INEC opted to examine the polling units and create new units where necessary, in the various political wards. The challenges of conducting the 2023 General Election is another tasking exercise that is ahead of the electoral body.
\nThe hope of conducting next year\u2019s election lies in the credibility of voters register. It is a fact that any adult whose name is not found in the voters\u2019 register cannot participate in an election. The importance of the voters\u2019 register cannot be overemphasised.
\nIt is a solid background for any electoral system. During election, the electorate must show their voters\u2019 cards to electoral officers conducting the election, and in turn verify the name in the voters\u2019 register at the polling unit before one is allowed or cleared to vote. INEC is actually working hard to meet the time to avoid delay in conducting the major elections in the country.
\nThe electoral umpire has fixed 28th February, 2023 for Presidential election. To meet the time table made public by INEC, there will be serious in-house preparation. Some political parties were de-registered by INEC after 2019 General Elections.
\nThe de-registered parties took INEC to court and lost out even at the Supreme Court. The ballot paper would not be too long again, as it was during 2019 elections. And there will be no overcrowding at the polling units by agents of political parties again. It was a bold step taken by INEC which today has a legal backing.
\nThe commission is on the stage to do what the world would see as credible or incredible. Often times, the political parties in the opposition see INEC as a tool of the ruling party. The duty of INEC is critical to peace and development of Nigeria. INEC de-registered the political parties on the ground that they did not win any elected position throughout the country during the election in 2019.
\nThe political process towards conduct of election is always criticised by people who do not understand the procedures. Therefore, INEC should operate an open-door policy and practice that will be transparent and credible to everyone to see. There should not be room for secrecy that will trigger suspicion and violence in the country from the activities of INEC.
\nOut of the 36 states in Nigeria, All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) only controls one state, that is Anambra State. The All Progressives Congress (APC) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) are the major political parties in the country.
\nThere is a general wake-up call for INEC to be unbiased in discharging its duties during election in Nigeria. Trust is lacking during election from the angle of some political parties, because of some perceived actions of INEC. The electoral body must build trust and be transparent in its dealings with citizens of Nigeria.
\nRecently, about 21 offices of INEC were attacked by hoodlums in Nigeria. And INEC is seeking synergy with security agencies in Nigeria to stop the ugly trend going against the electoral umpire. The attacks are dangerous to the conduct of election, because in the process of destruction some vital materials required for the conduct of election could be destroyed.
\nAgain, the downsizing of some overpopulated polling units should be transparent to create new polling units within the communities where such is found. INEC should consider creating viable voters\u2019 register across the country so that the electorate can have access and ask questions where necessary.
\nThe general election is an important exercise, therefore, every activity to enhance the conduct of election, should be credible and transparent to avoid doubt. It is clear that 2023 is not too far from now; and therefore, urgent step or holistic approaches should be taken to avoid voters\u2019 apathy, late distribution of materials, logistic issues and snatching of ballot boxes should be a thing of the past.<\/p>\n

By: Frank Ogwuonuonu<\/p>\n

Ogwuonuonu wrote from Port Harcourt.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Polling units are the basic foundation for an electoral process of any country. The voters register is not from the polling unit, without the voters\u2019 register gathered from the various units that form the electoral ward, there would have been no hope of election. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is the statutory body saddled […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[22],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n